The Wingless Fairy Series Book 1: Rebecca and the Changeling

The Wingless Fairy Series Book 1: Rebecca and the Changeling by Margaret Pearce (Writers Exchange E-Publishing)
Ebook RRP $3.99
ISBN 978-1-921636-91-2
Reviewed by Nina Lim

Get ready to be transported to a magical world of fantasy, fairies, and goblins in this fast paced ebook for mid-grade readers. Margaret Pearce has created an enchanting world of make believe and adventure.

This is the first book in the wingless fairy series. We meet Princess Dewdrop, who is not your ordinary fairy princess, and a host of other well-crafted characters. Princess Dewdrop is one feisty fairy, and bored with life in the confines of her enchanted fairy kingdom, she longs for adventure and new experiences. But when her life intersects with Rebecca – a willful but strong and brave human girl – she is exposed to more excitement, thrills, danger, joy and delight than she ever dreamed possible.

Along the way Dewdrop learns the value of friendship, loyalty, self-belief and the importance of knowledge and grabbing opportunities to learn. A fun read that transports you to another world and makes you wonder what happens next.

Nina Lim is the author and creator of Super Harry, an interactive storybook app for the iPhone and iPad. www.ninalim.com

The Greatest Liar on Earth

 The Greatest Liar on Earth by Mark Greenwood, illustrated by Frane Lessac (Walker Books)

HB RRP $29.95

ISBN 9781921529856

Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

He was a liar, and a fabricator of stories; a great pretender. The adventures told by Louis de Rougemont, a persuasive hoaxer, were believed by so many he quickly became a celebrity. He was invited to speak at gatherings of prominent and other interested people who filled the theatres to hear his tales of life threatening episodes and miraculous escapes.

But who was he really? When he was uncovered and ridiculed by being billed as ‘The Greatest Liar on Earth’ first in South Africa then in Australia, he returned to what he had been before his great deception. A man of no account: lost and forever searching.

With this book Mark Greenwood and his illustrator wife Frane Lessac, have brought to our attention a great story in history and an astonishing life albeit a falsified one. Henri Louis Grin aka de Rougemont, whose life is recorded in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, was highly intelligent otherwise he would never have pulled off this incredible deception. His speaking ability was exceptional and he persuaded his audiences that he had actually experienced all the adventures and dangers that he related to them. Nothing was more important to him than the urge to be something other than what he was. He abandoned his wife and seven children in pursuit of this ambition. He spent his life moving from one persona to another, but at the same time, learning, reading and changing.

Although this fantastic story is a picture book it is also for an ageless audience. Illustrated using gouache, it freely depicts in vibrant colours what can only be described as the extraordinary life and death of a great and temporarily successful pretender. 

Who You Are Is What You Do

 Who You Are Is What You Do: Making Choices About Life After School
 by Heather McAllister (Wilkins Farago)
HB RRP $29.99
ISBN 9780980607024
Reviewed by Vicki Stanton

If only I had this book when I was at school.

Primarily aimed at secondary school students, Who You Are Is What You Do is a careers counselling tool with a difference. Rather than focussing on 'the job' this innovative book focuses on the person. Author Heather McAllister briefly explores the ideas of the great philosophers Nietzsche, Heidegger and Sartre and uses the approach of determining career choices through individuals examining their core values, passions, skills, strengths and dreams.

This is not a book to flick through and shelve. It is a workbook that demands readers to really think about what makes them happy and fulfilled and to encourage them to take control of their choices and their life.  Questions are asked and space is provided for responses. By the end of the book, thoughtful readers will have a much clearer idea of who they are and which prospective careers might be best for them.

McAllister also provides general careers advice and there are plenty of websites the reader can access for further information. Personalised examples illustrate the point that by examining core beliefs and preferences, individuals can take control of their lives and move into areas of interest to them.

This is a great book for students to help them determine their futures. More importantly, it is a tool to help all of us determine who we really are and what makes our hearts sing.

Genie in Charge: Tweenie Genie

 Genie in Charge (Tweenie Genie) by Meredith Badger (Hardie Grant Egmont)

PB RRP $12.95

ISBN 978-192184883-4

Reviewed by Lillian Rodrigues-Pang

I have to admit I love this series. It is a well written, easy to read series that is positive and set in the world of young genies that is bound to capture young hearts. Throughout the series we follow Poppy, a genie in training at Genie High School. The series delivers a host of personable characters, both boys and girls, as they confront the problems and excitement of being a genie.

Genie in Charge is the third book in the series. Polly and all of her friends are in their final year of Genie High School. This is the year that all genies get to make their own wish rather than granting wishes to others.

Their final task before graduation is to mentor a second year genie. If they succeed they will be granted their wish for the job of their dreams. If they fail their wish may be distorted.

Poppy is assigned a very unusual second stage genie, she doesn’t wear her uniform correctly, she doesn’t like fun parks and she doesn’t like to fly magic carpets. At first Poppy believes that they have nothing in common and there is no way that she can mentor, her. Her wish and her future are at risk as the two of them argue, fall out and then find a way to understand and help each other.

For a fun, easy to read story I definitely recommend Tweenie Genie.

Whisper

 Whisper by Chrissie Keighery (hardie grant Egmont)
PB RRP $16.95

ISBN:

9781921759321

Reviewed by Vicki Stanton

Whisper has been short-listed for the 2012 Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Older Readers. It is easy to see why. Chrissie Keighery has penned a wonderful book about Demi, a girl who has become totally deaf following a vicious bout of meningitis. The whole way Demi experiences life and how she reacts to the world, and how the world reacts to her, has changed.

Keighery's  meticulous research is apparent. She opened up a whole new world to me in her portrayal of the deaf community and its interactions within and with the hearing world. All this is handled perfectly through a range of sympathetic and unsympathetic three-dimensional characters, in both the deaf and hearing worlds.

The strength of the story lies in its depth. It is not merely a story about a girl who goes deaf and how she deals with it. Whisper explores aspects of everyday life for an Australian teenage girl: changing schools, making friends, blossoming love, family friction. These issues are exacerbated by Demi's deafness but her enduring spirit and strength guide her through. Demi also learns that sometimes those that may seem the most privileged may also have their own cross to bear.

The Wrong Boy

 The Wrong Boy by Suzy Zail (black dog books, an imprint of Walker Books)
PB RRP $18.95
ISBN 9781742031651
Reviewed by Vicki Stanton

The Wrong Boy is a fictional account of a girl and her family struggling to survive one of history's most horrific events, the Holocaust. It is compelling reading. Written in first person, I felt I was there with Hanna every step of the way as her family is deported from their comfortable middle-class home in Budapest to the atrocities of Auschwitz concentration camp.

As the Mendels arrive at Auschwitz, Hanna, her sister Erika and mother are separated from her father. She never sees him again. Hanna finds solace in her music and eventually finds herself as pianist in the commandant's house. Hanna is ignored by all there. She is the invisible provider of the classical music. She feels the particular disdain of the Karl, the commandant's son, but later discovers that Karl's distance is not due to anti-Semitism but rather his own disgust towards his father and the Final Solution.

Life in Auschwitz is not glossed over: how the need to survive drives divisions within the Jewish women prisoners, the decline in the physical and mental health of Erika, and the relative health of Hannah are marked.

The romance between Hanna and Karl is delicately handled and not overplayed. Internal and sibling conflicts over the relationship simmer throughout. I thought it brave to introduce this element but Zail uses a deft hand and it adds to the poignancy of the story right to the very last line.

Chill

 Chill by Carol Thompson (Little Hare)

HB RRP $16.95

ISBN 978-192154173-5

Reviewed by Lillian Rodrigues-Pang

Dolly is a cute little pig that loves to play on her own for some games and with her best friend, Jack Rabbit, for others. We follow the pair as they play and laugh and paint. 


Unfortunately, one friend takes offense to a portrait and they argue. The argument escalates and the friendship breaks down. When alone, both characters are angry, then upset and then sad. They both learn to chill and concentrate on the things that matter the most to them, leading them back to friendship.

This is an endearing little story. The language and situation are accessible and easy to relate to. The graphics are simple and highly complimentary. It is a good book to teach the very young to chill and focus on friendship not anger.